Sanyo to Increase Automotive Li-Ion Battery Production by 150% at Kasai Plant

Sanyo's Kasai Plant in Japan. Photo: SanyoSanyo Bullish on Electric CarsOnly a few months after completing its giant lithium-ion battery factory in Kasai city, Japan, Sanyo seems to think that it's still not enough. The company is investing 15 billion yen (about 180 million U.S. dollars) to increase its annual output capacity for automotive lithium-ion batteries by 150 percent. The plant already has 2 production line, and 2 new ones will be added to produce "batteries with capacities of 20 ampere-hours or higher for use in plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles."Positioning Themselves as Lithium-Ion LeadersPanasonic now owns a majority stake in Sanyo, and the combined Japanese giants produce about a quarter of lithium-ion batteries for cellular phones (a huge market). They seem to be positioning themselves to also dominate the EV and PHEV market, which is probably a good sign for the market (if they are optimistic enough about it to build new production capacity), and will no doubt help drive prices down.

Sanyo to Increase Automotive Li-Ion Battery Production by 150% at Kasai Plant

Sanyo's Kasai Plant in Japan. Photo: Sanyo
Sanyo Bullish on Electric Cars
Only a few months after completing its giant lithium-ion battery factory in Kasai city, Japan, Sanyo seems to think that it's still not enough. The company is investing 15 billion